The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability recently released its examination of the State of Illinois’ enacted FY2010 budget. The analysis shows that the State already faces a two-year budget deficit going into FY2011 totaling at least $12.8 billion but it also revealed that the Governor plans to spend an addition $885 million before the fiscal year ends on June 30. If…
This news segment details how the two Democratic candidates for Illinois governor propose to balance the State budget through major changes to the tax structure. In the segment, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says that the Federation thinks Illinois should reduce pensions for new employees and limit spending to help balance its budget.
This report examines the $54.3 billion FY2010 operating budget for the State of Illinois that was approved by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Pat Quinn on July 15, 2009. The report compares this enacted budget with both the FY2010 budget recommended by Governor Quinn in March of 2009 and the estimated year-end budget for FY2009. It is designed to provide Illinois residents with a…
(CHICAGO) The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability released an independent examination of the enacted FY2010 State of Illinois budget today. The first-of-its-kind report is designed to provide Illinois residents with a resource to understand the spending and revenue trends that have led to the current fiscal crisis. The enacted budget analysis shows that the State…
This front-page article on the State of Illinois’ fiscal crisis features commentary by the Civic Federation. The Federation is quoted saying that the State is on the edge of insolvency due to a chronic structural deficit and enormous unfunded pension liabilities.
A plan by Governor Pat Quinn’s administration to enroll elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) has run into opposition from advocates for the disabled and is moving ahead more slowly than expected. As previously discussed in this blog, Governor Quinn hopes to enroll roughly 40,000 elderly and disabled beneficiaries in Northeastern Illinois—excluding…
This article discusses how local bans on video gambling across the State of Illinois might affect funding for the State's $31 billion in capital spending. The Civic Federation is quoted saying it had warned the General Assembly that gambling is an unreliable source of revenue and notes that the program's revenue assumptions should be reexamined.
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall was interviewed for this news segment about Illinois' severe budget troubles on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" program. He says that Illinois' fiscal issues do not stem from the current economic recession, but rather the state's history of spending more than its available revenue and a tendency to defer its pension responsibilities.
This week the State of Illinois finalized one of its largest revenue sources enacted by General Assembly and approved by the Governor to fund the FY2010 budget, a $3.5 billion loan. By selling five-year pension obligation bonds, sometimes referred to as pension notes, the State freed up $3.5 billion to fund operations for FY2010 that would have otherwise been used to pay for the statutorily…
Since its beginnings in July with the overhaul of the Civic Federation’s website, the IIFS blog has focused mostly on issues related to the Illinois budget, including Medicaid, debt, and the State pension system. These posts expand upon topics discussed in IIFS research publications and events in the news. Discussion about Illinois’ FY2010 budget and how the State was planning to bridge a two-…
